


Drinking with You

by chamel



Category: Westworld (TV)
Genre: And Then Some, Canon Compliant, Drinking & Talking, F/M, First Kiss, Getting Together, I Will Go Down With This Ship, In the Mesa, Spoilers for Season 2, Storytelling, Stubbsie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 12:09:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15773838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamel/pseuds/chamel
Summary: They stood there together for a moment, as if neither quite wanted to leave each other’s company. “Hey, you, uh, wanna come in and have a drink?” Elsie ventured, “Sounds like we both could fucking use one.”i.e., what happened the night between when they picked Elsie up from where Bernard left her and when they went to the Forge/Valley Beyond with Clementine.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically canon compliant, in that I think it fits the timeline accurately (but who can tell, lol). It happens approximately between episodes 9 and 10. Things don't get explicit until the second chapter.
> 
> It's been a really long time since I wrote fanfic, but this was kicking around in my head and I decided to write it down because I love them and there's not enough Elsie/Ashley fic. I'd love to hear if you enjoy it.

Ashley was in the control room bending over a map with Hale and a few techs when Elsie walked in accompanied by the QA team members he had sent out. They had picked up a signal beacon in Sector 14, long after most of the humans in the park had been found, and he had dispatched a team to the location not knowing who or what they would find. To his shock, it was Elsie. She’d been missing since before the gala, since her phone winked out in the far reaches of the park and he had gone out looking for her. He had given up hope of finding her, yet here she was, looking not too much worse for the wear.

“Elsie?” he said in disbelief, “I can’t believe it, where have you been?”

“It’s… it’s a long story,” she said, and everyone around her nodded knowingly. Everyone had a long story since it all went to hell in a handbasket. “What’s going on?”

He took her question to mean at that moment, not everything that had happened since she had disappeared. _That_ was a long story. Hale answered before he could.

“The hosts are gathering in this valley, in Sector 16, Zone 4,” she explained, pointing to the map, “and we have a plan to regain control. We’re going tomorrow morning.” She did not elaborate on the plan, although it was one Ashley certainly did not approve of. He had said as much, but Hale had overruled him, and he had decided it was better to go to the valley in case he could mitigate the damage rather than being shut out entirely.

Elsie did not appear that interested in the plan. “Well, I need a fucking shower and a bed, so thanks for the pickup, and I’ll be in my apartment.”

With that, she turned and left the control room. Ashley excused himself from the map and caught up with her in the hallway outside. She glanced at him. “Can I help you?”

“Just walking you to your apartment,” Ashley explained.

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter,” she said derisively as she pulled a handgun out of her waistband.

He smirked. “I’m sure you don’t, but it’s orders now. No one goes anywhere by themselves, in case hosts infiltrate the Mesa again.”

“Again?” Elsie looked around at the destruction.

“It’s a long story,” he said, giving her line back to her. They arrived at the elevator and got in, and Ashley pushed a button for the residential floor.

“So who is going to escort you once you drop me off at my apartment, Einstein?”

He shrugged. “I’m just going down the hall to my own place. So don’t think of it as an escort if you don’t want, just two people going to bed.”  
  
“Two people going to bed?” she teased, causing Ashley to flush.

“You know what I meant.”

They walked in silence for a bit longer, and then he ventured, “So what did happen to you out there? You’ve been gone a long time.”

“Told you, it’s a long fucking story,” she repeated as they arrived at her door. They stood there together for a moment, as if neither quite wanted to leave each other’s company. “Hey, you, uh, wanna come in and have a drink?” Elsie ventured, “Sounds like we both could fucking use one.”

Ashley hesitated. He had little to eat and less sleep over the past few days, and he was sure alcohol would hit him like a ton of bricks. “I… probably shouldn’t. Early morning tomorrow and all.”

“C’mon, Stubbs, just one won’t put you under. I should hope.” She looked suspicious. “You’re not a fucking teetotaler, are you?”

“No!” he said a little too quickly, “it’s just…” He realized he would like nothing more than to sit down and have a beer with her, but his sense of duty was still nagging him.  
  
She didn’t let him finish his thought. “I’ll tell you what happened to me, but only over a beer.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” he laughed. “Ok, one drink.”

Her apartment was spare, without much in the way of decorations. She opened the fridge, which he could see had next to nothing in it, and pulled out a six pack of beer. Then she fished a half-full bottle of bourbon out from under a counter.

“Beer or whiskey?”

“What are you trying to do, get me fired? Beer, please.”

Elsie shrugged and popped the caps off two beers. They made their way over to her living area and she collapsed in a large chair. He found a place on the sofa.

“So?” he prompted.

“Ok, so…” she began. She told how she had been looking for the transmission site, and a host had captured her and chained her in a cave. Then she had been left there for days until the same host came back and freed her, telling her about the massacre and what had gone on. She managed to hide from Dolores’s band, and eventually found a beacon in an abandoned QA vehicle.

Ashley could tell she was holding back information. She had been careful never to say what host had done all of this to her, and he had a feeling she knew more of why than she was letting on. It also didn’t seem to account for all the time she had been gone; ultimately, her story wasn’t that long. But he didn’t push her. He trusted that she had a reason, and if she wanted to say more, she would.

She considered her now-empty beer bottle. “Now you,” she said.

“What, my story? That’s going to take all night.”

“Well then I guess you better get started,” she said as she got up and grabbed them another pair of beers. He thought about protesting the beer, but the first had tasted damn good, and he did need a drink if he was going to tell this story.

He started with what happened right after she disappeared, when he went out looking for her and got captured by the Ghost Nation. He told of how they mysteriously had let him and the other humans go, and how he had made his way back to the Mesa.

“Wait wait wait,” she stopped him. “You weren’t there for the gala either? So both of us got fucking kidnapped by hosts, which probably kept us from being fucking murdered by hosts?”

Ashley laughed. “Well, I suppose that’s one way to put it.”

“Huh,” she said, looking deep in thought. After a moment, she gestured at him, “go on, go on.”

He picked up with the arrival of the first Delos team, and what an asshole Coughlin had been. He started in on the attack on the Mesa when she stopped him again: their beers were empty again.

“Hold it. Your story is too fucking long,” she said, laughing as she got up and went to the kitchen again.

“You asked for it,” he shot back. She came back with the last of the beers, which he accepted gladly. They finished them over the rest of his story, including Clementine and the plans for the next day. He finished, shaking his head. “I think I’d prefer not to think about that any more tonight, though.”  
  
Elsie had looked incredulous at the end, and nodded. “Fucking Hale.” She grabbed their empty bottles and headed out of the living area again.

“Where are you going?” Ashley called after her.

“Vectoring,” she smirked, bringing up memories of that day when they had gone out together after the woodcutter. He smiled to himself as he watched her retreating form. His head was fuzzy, and he found his thoughts wandering to how perfectly formed her ass was. Then he caught himself, shaking his head to try to clear it. It wouldn’t do to think of one of his coworkers like that. Another little voice in his head said that Bernard and Theresa had done it, so why couldn’t they? But he silenced it. Elsie certainly didn’t think of him that way.

After a few moments he heard the distinct sound of ice clattering in glasses from the kitchen, and turned on the couch to see her heading toward him with two tumblers pinched between her fingers in one hand, and the bottle of bourbon in the other.

“Oh no no no no no,” he said, laughing and shaking his head, “That is a bad idea.” Hard liquor was not something he needed to add on tonight.

“That’s where you are wrong, this is definitely a good idea,” she replied confidently, “this is good shit, and I want to drink it before the fucking world ends.”

As she came back into the room she plopped down on the couch next to him and handed him a glass. He took it unthinkingly, and before he could stop her she had popped the cork on the bottle and started glugging the amber liquid into it.

“Now you have to drink it, because otherwise you are wasting my good whiskey, and you wouldn’t do that,” she said seriously. Or as serious as one could be while slightly drunk.

In his tipsy state, he couldn’t argue with her logic. He sipped the bourbon gingerly as she poured herself a glass; it was smooth and warming as it went down.

“See? This is good shit. Definitely worth it.”

Ashley snorted. “Ask me in the morning.”

“Maybe I will,” she replied. If Ashley didn’t know any better, he would say she was leering at him.

Fueled by the bourbon, they continued talking into the wee hours of the night. They talked about everything: jobs, personal history, what they did on leave, interests and hobbies. They talked and talked, and the bourbon bottle got more and more empty, until they finally killed it. Elsie made an exaggerated sad face as she turned the bottle upside down and only drops came out, making Ashley laugh. For a few moments, they sat in each other’s company without speaking. Then, Elsie broke the silence.

“Thanks for going out to rescue me, even though you mucked it up and got captured by the Ghost Nation, so you didn’t even find me,” she smirked as she finished

Ashley gave a look of exaggerated shock and hurt. “You’re welcome—I think.” They both laughed.

“No really, thanks for going out when no one else would,” she said genuinely, “when they said I had just fucking left, like I would fucking do that.”

“Well, I care about you,” Ashley said and then stopped abruptly as he realized what had just come out of his mouth, eyes going wide as the grin dropped off his face in sudden horror. Oh god, he had to say something else. “I–I mean, I care about the safety of all of the employees who work here, that’s my job, that’s, yeah, my job,” he finished lamely. He suddenly found the ice in his empty glass to be totally fascinating.

“Go back to that first part again?” Elsie said, beside him. He could feel her leaning in closer to him, but he remained silent, turning deeper and deeper shades of red as he stare fixedly at his glass. “Ashley,” she said softly, almost a whisper.  
  
He raised his eyes to hers, her face now inches from his. Had she ever called him by his first name before? He wasn’t sure. He was afraid she’d tease him mercilessly, but she looked only curious. Her lips, inches from his, were slightly parted, and he could smell the bourbon on her breath, sweet and boozy.

Suddenly, decisively, he kissed her. The kiss was slow at first, but she kissed him harder and faster, tongue darting into his mouth, and he sped up to her pace. They kissed fiercely, intensely, and it was difficult to breathe. His glass forgotten on the couch beside him, Ashley reached out and grabbed her around the waist, scooting her body closer to his. His lungs were burning; the small breaths of air he was getting through his nose weren’t enough. Eventually it was too much, and he broke off the kiss, gasping for air.

Elsie was breathing hard too. She sat back, touching her lips lightly. “So _that’s_ how you feel about me,” she said at last.

He looked at her, raising his eyebrows as he caught his breath. “Me? What about you? I always thought I just annoyed you.”

“Well you are pretty annoying,” she smirked.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, feigning hurt feelings.

She laughed and gave him a small shove on the shoulder. “I’m just giving you a hard time.”  
  
“I’ll give you a hard time,” he retorted lamely.

Elsie leaned in again, grinning wickedly. At once she leapt onto him, straddling his lap on the couch. She came close, her lips almost brushing his ear. “You promise?”

She kissed him then, although this time it wasn’t so frantic. He grabbed her waist, moving his hands slowly along her sides. Her arm snaked between them, finding the ever-tightening region of his pants and giving it a playful squeeze.

“Mmmmph!” he groaned into her mouth.

She pulled away, grinning. “You weren’t lying.”


	2. Chapter 2

Her hand still rested on his crotch, and he could feel himself getting stiffer by the second. His mind was whirling as he stared into her mischievous gaze. Things were moving too fast. Maybe they shouldn’t. What if she woke up tomorrow morning and hated him? What if this was all a mistake?

“Hey,” she said, breaking his reverie, “stop thinking so hard, you’re going to fry a circuit.” She looked at him expectantly, but he was frozen. Finally, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast. “No thinking, just this.” Before he could reply she kissed him again.

The kiss washed over him, pushing away his doubts and replacing them with pure desire. She leaned into his hand, and he used his other to slide up the back of her shirt until he found her bra clasp. Of course, the damned thing was definitely too complicated for one hand. He ignored her giggling and kissed her harder, removing his other hand from her breast and using them both to unhook the bra. With both hands under her shirt, he lifted them at the same time over her head, sweeping off bra and shirt together and tossing them to the side. She grabbed his shirt by the hem and peeled it off, then trailed her hands over his bare chest.

For split second, he drank in the sight of her perfect, naked breasts before diving in to grab one nipple in his mouth and the other with a hand. He sucked and nibbled with one hand, rolling and rubbing with the other until they were tiny pebbles under his touch.

Elsie moaned, leaning into him as her hands moved over his body. They eventually found his pants again. She deftly unbuckled his belt, then unbuttoned his pants and slowly slid the zipper down. Her hand slipped inside, rubbing him through his underwear and drawing a moan from him. She broke away and slid backwards off his lap, hooking her fingers into the sides of his pants and his underwear and tugging down. He raised his hips slightly off the couch and his clothes slid down to his ankles, where he kicked them off. 

He looked down to see Elsie crouched at his knees, gazing at his rigid cock, now sticking straight in the air. “The sculptors in manufacturing never made one this magnificent,” she breathed, causing him to turn bright red again. She leaned forward, breasts dragging along his thighs, and kissed the tip, sending shudders through him. She took him lightly in her mouth, swirling her tongue around the head as she grabbed the shaft with a hand. “Oh god,” he moaned. Her mouth and hands worked him in perfect sync. She tantalized him for a few more moments before letting him go and beginning to rise back toward him. He stopped her before she could climb on his naked lap.

“Oh no you don’t, fair’s fair,” he said, grabbing her hips and standing her up in front of him. He quickly undid the fasteners on her pants and yanked them down. Her cotton undies had little flowers on them, which surprised him momentarily, and they were soaked at the crotch. Slowly he slid his fingers in the sides and pulled them over her hips, and she stepped out of both them and the pants, kicking them to the side. With one hand on her ass, Ashley slid the other up her inner thigh ever so slowly until it reached the damp curly hair at her crotch. He slipped a finger into her slit, dancing over her clit. She moaned and pushed into him, and he inserted some fingers into her while his thumb rubbed the sensitive knob. It was her turn to groan, “oh god.” He leaned in and planted light kisses over her hip and lower belly.

Then abruptly she grabbed his hand and pulled it away, pushing him back against the couch as she slid down onto his lap again. Their bodies pressed together, and he pulled her into a deep kiss. His cock was hot and hard between them, and she ground her hips into its base. He grabbed her ass and held her tighter, reveling in the feel of her naked body against his. She pulled away slightly, then carefully she lifted herself up and guided him inside her. Both of them groaned together this time. For a moment they sat without moving, relishing the feeling of it. Their eyes were locked together, and Elsie dipped her head to kiss him again, only breaking her gaze at the last minute. Then she started grinding her hips on top of him, each thrust sending a jolt of pleasure through his body. He grabbed her hips tightly and pushed hard. Her body arched backward and and he took the opportunity to lean forward and grab a breast in his mouth once more, working the nipple with his tongue. She twined her fingers through his sandy hair, pushing his face harder against her chest. He sucked hard, and each time she gasped under his ministrations. Grinning, he slid one hand in between him and down to rub against her clit as she continued to move on top of him.

Her movements started getting more frantic, and she pushed into him harder. “Oh god, oh god, ASHLEEEEEEEEEEEE,” she cried as her muscles all clenched at once. As she began to slump toward him, he grabbed her waist and laid her down on the couch on her back, maneuvering so he never left her. She grabbed his hips and brought hers up to meet them as he plunged into her, harder and harder. Her grip was so tight that he was sure he was going to have bruises the next morning. He could feel the tension building until it overwhelmed all his senses and came crashing down on him and he cried, “Elsie! Oh, Elsie, Elsie!” He shuddered as he shot his load and then nearly collapsed on top of her, catching himself on his elbows. He was breathing hard as she brought a hand up and pushed a fallen lock of his hair off his forehead. A gentle smile played on her lips, and she looked at him with an expression of pure contentment. He grinned back at her, his heart still fluttering in his chest. Gently Elsie pulled his head down and kissed him softly. He maneuvered himself to lay by her side, sliding out of her as he did.

Ashley lay next to her, watching her chest rise and fall. After a while, her breath turned slow and rhythmic, and he could tell she had fallen asleep. Slowly, carefully, he extracted himself from the couch without waking her. Then he gathered her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. He laid her gently down and pulled the covers up over her. She looked so peaceful. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead, then started heading back to the living room to retrieve his clothing.

There was a voice behind him. “Just where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Elsie asked from the bed.

“I–I was just gonna get my stuff and go to my apartment. To let you rest,” Ashley explained, feeling suddenly slightly awkward standing completely naked in her room.

“The hell you are. This bed is plenty fucking big enough, I insist you get in,” she said forcefully, then lighter, “it’s really soft, I promise.”

“If someone comes looking for me…” he started, trying a different tack. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend the night with her, but he was honestly terrified of the morning. His earlier doubts crept back into his mind. She seemed to want him around now, but what if she regretted it in the morning? He didn’t think he could face that.

“They can go fuck themselves,” Elsie finished definitively. “What if I said I needed you to stay because I was afraid to be myself with the murderous hosts around?”  
  
Ashley snorted. “Then I would know you were lying through your teeth.”

“Well it doesn’t matter, I want you to stay,” she huffed. Then, more tentatively, “please?”

He looked at her, and his heart melted. How could he say no? Sighing slightly with resignation and shoving his fears to the back of his mind, he walked back toward the bed and climbed in the other side. She immediately scooted over to him and he could feel her naked body pressing against him. Elsie wedged up under his arm, using his shoulder as a pillow, and promptly fell asleep again. Trying not to disturb her, he reached over and turned off the lamp by the bedside and fell into a contented sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A loud, insistent pounding on the door woke Ashley up. He sat up quickly, and then the pounding was in his head instead. Wincing, he looked over but Elsie was already out of bed, pulling his discarded shirt over her head as she made her way to the door.

“Fuck! I’m coming, I’m coming,” she shouted as the pounding continued. She opened it up and he could hear, but not see, who was behind it.

“I almost thought you were dead,” Hale snarked.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Elsie shot back. “What do you want?”

“Have you seen Stubbs? He’s not answering his door. You were the last person to see him last night.” Ashley could feel his heart suddenly pounding in his chest. He held still, praying Hale wouldn’t try to come into the apartment.

Elsie snorted. “Maybe _he’s_ dead. No, I haven’t seen him since he dropped me off here,” she lied easily.

“Well if you see him, tell him we are leaving for Sector 16 in thirty,” Hale said, “and if he’s not there we’re leaving without him, and he can find a new job.”

“I’ll be sure to pass on the message,” Elsie replied. “Hey, uh, maybe I should come with you? You might need a programmer if things go sideways.”  
  
“If things go sideway we’ll need guns, not tablets,” Hale sneered, “We already have Clementine ready, no thanks to you. But if you want to come, be my guest. Just don’t get in the way.” There was a short silence, then: “Nice shirt,” Hale said sarcastically, and Ashley could hear her footsteps receding. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

Elsie closed the door and found Ashley out of bed, heading toward the living area to find his pants. She was scowling until she saw him, but then her face lit up with a smile. Seeing that made his heart soar. Clearly, she did not hate him in the morning. His shirt was oversized on her, but it just barely afforded any modesty. The tantalizing curve of her ass peeking out below the shirt hem was incredibly arousing, and he had to force himself to focus on finding the pants. Maybe he needed a cold shower first.

Elsie stopped in the living room and put a hand on her hip. “Trying to run out the door again?” she accused.

“No! I mean, kind of,” he said apologetically, “it’s just, you heard Hale, I need to get down there ASAP.”

“What I heard is that you have 30 minutes before you need to worry about Hale.”

She had a point. Still… “I–I have to get ready… and so do you!” he said, latching on to that tidbit. “Why do you want to come, anyway?”

She shrugged. “Professional curiosity.”

“Well, don’t go doing anything dangerous,” he admonished, walking up to her. His pants were up, but not yet fastened. He came close, putting his hands on her waist. “I care about you.” It was simple, but it was relief to say it again, this time without any embarrassment. He kissed her slowly and unhurried, and it was almost familiar. It felt really good. “I’m going to need this,” he said, grabbing the bottom of his shirt to lift it over her head.

But she clamped her arms down and twisted away from him, laughing. “Oh no you don’t! You’re not getting this until I get what I want.”

“Oh yeah, and what is that?” he laughed, chasing her toward the bathroom.

She stopped and turned, still holding her arms tight across her body. “Look, you need a shower, I need a shower. We shower together, and we can save time and water!” She looked very proud of her idea. Ashley did not think this plan was likely to save time or water, but he followed her into the bathroom just the same.

She reached into the shower and turned on the water, then turned back to him and grabbed his pants, sliding them off his hips and on to the floor. She leered at him playfully and her fingers brushed past his cock, which he was trying to keep from stiffening through sheer force of will. It wasn’t really working. He jumped into the shower while it was still cool. Maybe if he could shower fast…

He was shampooing by the time that Elsie got into the shower a minute later, his eyes clenched tight. He opened them to drink in the sight of her naked form once again.

“Fuck, you’re moving quickly,” she said as he moved out of the water for her. She picked up a washcloth, soaped it up, and slowly, languidly started wiping it over her body. She was clearly trying to tantalize him, and it was working. The cold shower had done nothing for his arousal, and in any case the water was now warm. As she turned around she caught him staring, his hands no longer moving in his foamy hair. She smirked and grabbed his cock, her hands slippery as she stroked it.

“Ngghhh Elsie,” he groaned as he became totally erect. She pressed her wet, soapy body against him. Hair forgotten, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her tighter, leaning down to kiss her deeply. Unlike the one earlier this morning, this kiss was laced with desire and urgency. She grabbed his butt and pulled his hips into her, pushing his stiff cock into her belly. Her entire body was slippery, and his hands flew rapidly over her every curve. Until suddenly…

“Ow ow ow ow!” he yelled, pulling away with his eyes screwed tightly shut, “shampoo in the eyes, shampoo in the eyes, god that sucks.” She moved out of the way and he blindly sought the shower head to soak his face. After a moment, he felt her slide up behind him and press her body into him again, her hands exploring his chest and abdomen. He turned around in her arms, smiling at her. “Maybe we should rinse off the soap first…” he barely got the words out before she was trying to jump his bones again. Upon hearing his proposal she stopped, considered it, and nodded.

“I’ll allow it,” she said, grinning wickedly.

He laughed and shoved his head under the shower head, quickly washing the rest of the shampoo away. He shifted and she jumped under the water, moving much more quickly this time. Once it looked like she had mostly rinsed, he just couldn’t wait anymore. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, causing her to emit an very un-Elsie-like squeak. Moving carefully, he positioned her over his hips and she wrapped her legs around him, sliding onto his waiting cock.

This was a dangerous game; the shower was slippery, they were standing up. Ashley rotated and pushed her back up against the tile; a narrow ledge running along the length of the shower was almost the perfect height to sit her on. Bottles of soap and shampoo went clattering to the bottom of the shower as they were pushed off the ledge, but Ashley and Elsie paid them no mind. The shower was still pounding them with water as they moved together, rivulets running down between them. Even the warm water felt cool against their inflamed skin. He thrusted rhythmically, and she ground down onto him hard. Her nails raked against his back as he kissed her all over her neck and shoulder. He could feel himself getting closer and closer, but he wouldn’t let himself go before her. 

Then, she was gasping and clenching him harder. “Ashley, oh Ashley, yes Yes YES!” she screamed. Her muscles spasming and squeezing his cock pushed him over the edge of his own climax and he shuddered, one hand pressed against the cold tile to support himself. They held their position for a few moments longer until it became too difficult to maintain; as he helped Elsie slide down off the ledge she nearly fell into his arms. He caught her up and held her close. He kissed her again; he couldn’t seem to stop kissing her. Sighing, he pulled slightly away. He didn’t want to leave, he just wanted to hold her all day. Unfortunately, duty called.

Disentangling himself, he rinsed quickly and jumped out of the shower, leaving her to her own shampooing. He toweled off and grabbed his pants and shirt, stumbling into the bedroom again. He was fully dressed by the time Elsie emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy robe and squeezing her hair with a towel. She sauntered over to him as he was standing up from tying his shoes, coming very close to him.

“If I didn’t know any better I would say you were trying to get away,” she accused again.

Ashley looked pained. “You know I would much rather spend all day in bed with you, right?”

She smiled and leaned into him and softly said, “I know. So, was it worth it?” 

He was momentarily confused, and then he remembered last night. The bourbon. He told her to ask him the in morning. He grinned. “Definitely.” The kiss that followed was sweet and gentle, but Ashley pushed into it, grabbing her tightly. One of his hands slipped inside the front of her robe and found her breast, reveling in the softness.

She broke away and pushed him back, but not unkindly. “You’re going to be late.”

“So are you,” he pointed out.

“I’ll be later if you keep delaying me.”  
  
“Me?? You’re the one…” he began as she pushed him playfully toward the door.

His hand on the knob, he stopped and turned around once more. He stole another kiss; he couldn’t help it. This one was full of passion and promise, and it made his heart soar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know how tragic the end of this is considering what happens to Elsie only a few hours later. Sorry. I try not to think about it, and am trying to come up with ways to fix it.


End file.
